The laboratory Bunsen burner was invented by Robert Wilhelm Bunsen in 1855. Bunsen (March 31, 1811-August 16, 1899) was a German chemist and teacher. He invented the Bunsen burner for his research in isolating chemical substances - it has a high-intensity, non-luminous flame that does not interfere with the colored flame emitted by chemicals being tested. Peter Desaga was a University of Heidelberg (where Bunsen worked) mechanic who built the first Bunsen burner to Bunsen’s specifications. Bunsen also invented the hydrojet filter pump, a photometer (to measure the intensity of light), and the Bunsen battery (a chemical battery).
Bunsen and the German physicist Gustav Robert Kirchhoff (1824-1887) developed the Bunsen-Kirchhoff spectroscope (to do spectral analysis of materials) in 1859 and used it to discover the elements Rubidium and Cesium (two alkali metals) in 1860. Early in his career, Bunsen was blinded in one eye when a chemistry experiment of his exploded.